Story By: Ana Marjanovic, Sub-Editor: Michael Leidig, Agency: Newsflash
The Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has said that his special forces are successfully destroying Ukrainian forces in the pro-Russian Luhansk People’s Republic.
The footage, which was obtained from Kadyrov, purports to show Chechen special forces carrying out operations in eastern Ukraine, blowing up a rural building and taking out Ukrainian troops in the so-called ,pro-Russian Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR), in eastern Ukraine.
Kadyrov said in a statement obtained on the evening of Monday, 20th June: “The offensive tactics of the Chechen special forces to liberate the Luhansk People’s Republic are improving every day. The guys demonstrate stable success in destroying the armed nationalist formations, not even allowing them to regroup.
“Trying to get away from the inevitable punishment, the Nazis and Bandera run from house to house, trying to hide behind civilians. Apparently, they do not know that our fighters took all the residents out of the special operation zone in advance. As soon as the enemy enters the next house, my dear BROTHER, commander Musa Akhmatov, together with his subordinates, immediately covers them with a shell.
“I have repeatedly said and I will repeat again to the Ukrainian-Nazi henchmen: no matter how much you run and no matter what you do, you will not win this confrontation. We will overtake everyone and call them to account. By continuing to resist, you only bring your end closer.”
The LPR also issued a statement attributed to an LPR militia captain named as I. M. Filiponenko, saying on Tuesday, 21st June: “
“Over the course of clashes with units of the defence department, over the past day, the enemy suffered losses in manpower and military equipment, namely: 25 personnel; 4 armoured personnel carriers; 7 vehicles; and 6 servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine made the right decision and laid down their arms, thereby saving their lives.”
The statement also said: “The People’s Militia of the LPR calls on Ukrainian soldiers to lay down their arms, for this purpose, the artillery units of the defence department continue to cover the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine with propaganda leaflets.
“The enemy continues to terrorise the civilian population of the Republic, shelling the civilian infrastructure of the front-line settlements of the LPR, which do not pose a danger to the enemy and are not military facilities.”
The LPR also claimed that “over the past day, the armed formations of Ukraine fired two missiles from the Tochka-U tactical missile system at the settlements of Stakhanov and Zimogorie.”
We have not been able to independently verify the images or the claims.
Russia invaded Ukraine on 24th February in what the Kremlin is calling a “special military operation”. Today marks the 118th day of the invasion.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that between 24th February and 21st June, Russia had lost about 34,100 personnel, 1,496 tanks, 3,606 armoured combat vehicles, 752 artillery units, 239 multiple launch rocket systems, 98 air defence systems, 216 warplanes, 181 helicopters, 611 drones, 137 cruise missiles, 14 warships, 2,537 motor vehicles and fuel tankers, and 59 units of special equipment.
Russia has conducted an anti-ship missile exercise in the Baltic Sea amid escalating tensions with NATO member Lithuania after the country blocked the transit of goods to the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad.
Ukrainian forces have said that they have been successfully thwarting fresh Russian attempts to advance in the Kharkiv region of north-eastern Ukraine.
And Iryna Vereshchuk, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories, has urged locals in the Kherson region to evacuate the area so as to help Ukrainian forces “deoccupy” the area.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited Ukraine’s southern frontline as Ukrainian forces mount a counter attack in the region to push back Russian troops.
The new head of the British Army, Gen Sir Patrick Sanders, has told British forces that they need to be ready to face Russia on the battlefield and said the British Army now needs to be capable of defeating Russia.
United States President Joe Biden has promised Kyiv another USD 1 billion in security assistance and weapons. And US General Mark Milley says Russia has lost around 20 to 30 per cent of its armoured force during the ongoing invasion.
President Zelenskyy said that a “historic week” has begun as Kyiv awaits a decision from Brussels regarding its EU candidate status.
Zelenskyy, speaking to the African Union on Monday, 20th June, also accused Russia of holding Africa “hostage” over grain and fertiliser shortages.
French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi held talks in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv with President Zelenskyy on 16th June.
Former Russian president and staunch Vladimir Putin ally Dmitry Medvedev has derided French, German and Italian leaders visiting the Ukrainian capital Kyiv as “fans of frogs, liverwurst and spaghetti”.
The European Parliament adopted a resolution recommending that the European Union grant Ukraine the status of candidate country for EU membership. Some 438 MEPs voted in favour of the resolution, with 65 voting against and 94 abstaining.
Independent Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov has auctioned off his Nobel Peace Prize medal for USD 103.5 million, with all the proceeds going to help Ukrainian refugees.
Muratov, 60, is the editor-in-chief of Russian independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta, which he co-founded in 1993. He has been a vocal advocate for the freedom of the press and argued that it needs to remain independent from state influence.
